Cal. 30 multiple machine gun carriage



y 3, 1956 H. J. CRIGGER EI'AL 2,752,825

CAL. .30 MULTIPLE MACHINE GUN CARRIAGE Filed March 17, 1953 s Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTORS, Herman J. CriggeF BY .James ELMilluic 6f m WTWMW .HZTURNEY'S.

y 3 1956 ,H. J. CRIGGER mL 2,752,825

CAI... .50 MULTIPLE MACHINE GUN CARRIAGE Filed March 17, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORJ, Herman J- Brigger James. I] Mi.1lcrtt HTTURNE'ZS.

y 3,1956 H, J. CRIGGER ETAL 2,752,825

CAL. .30 MULTIPLE MACHINE GUN CARRIAGE Filed March 17, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Harman. J-Er-1'gg'er- James U.MilluH CAL. .30 MULTIPLE MACHHNE GUN CGE Application March 17, 1953, Serial No. 343,002

4 Claims. (Cl. 89-37) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (E52), sec. 266) This invention may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to improvements in multiple machine gun carriages and more particularly to a machine gun carriage adapted to support several machine guns such as the Armys .30 caliber type M1919A4.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a carriage upon which are mounted several machine guns and which is suspended from a trunnion yoke which fits the pintle socket of a standard .50 caliber machine gun mount such as the Armys type M63.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a gun carriage suspended from the M63 gun mount without modification of the guns and the gun mount.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carriage upon which are mounted several machine guns, the guns being capable of movement in traverse to enlarge the firing range thereof.

A further object is to provide a gun carriage carrying several machine guns, adapted to be quickly and easily assembled or disassembled in the field.

A further object of this invention is to provide a trigger bar that is capable of firing all the guns simultaneously or individually and controlled by one operator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for supporting ammunition boxes under the guns for feeding ammunition thereto.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the invention in its entirety;

Figure 2 is a section taken along lines 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section taken along lines 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the upper part of the gun carriage;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the upper frame;

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective detail View of one of the rear adjustable gun yokes, and

Figure 7 is an exploded perspective of one of the front adjustable gun yokes and deflector chutes.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, 5 refers generally to the upper part or frame member upon which are mounted four machine guns A, B, C and D as illustrated in Figures 1 and 4 and which may be the Armys .30 caliber type M1919A4. Thus, side members 6 and 7, Figure 5 are joined at their ends to rear member 8 and forward member 9 to form an upper frame from which is suspended by stringers or strips 10, 11, 12 and 13, a tray 19:: (see Fig. 3) for supporting standard ammunition boxes E. This tray is formed by rear member 14 and front member 15, joined at their ends by side members 15a. Reinforcing strips 15b connect front and rear members at spaced intervals. This tray is positioned beneath tes Patent forward member 9 of the gun carriage frame so as to support the ammunition boxes E in direct alignment with the feed port of the respective guns mounted above.

In spaced relation, there is provided in the upper frame rear bracket plates 44, 50, 45 and 46 in alignment with front bracket plates 47, 51, 48 and 49, respectively, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

A pair of generally triangular trunnion plates 16 (Fig. l) are fixed medially on the upper frame in vertical, laterally-spaced relation. These plates are somewhat longer than the width of the frame and are placed so that the rearmost reduced ends extend rearwardly beyond the member 8, as clearly shown upon Figure l. The trunnion plates 16 are rigidly interconnected at their rearward ends by a strip or plate 18 and extend upwardly and forwardly, and at their forward upper portions are provided with aligned pivot bearing holes 17, Figures 2 and 5, in which a trunnion cap member 20 is pivoted by studs 21, to thereby mount the entire frame and all parts carried thereby for pivotal elevational movement. From Figure 4 it will be noted that the axes of these studs pass substantially through the bore axes of the gun barrels. A support 26 including a vertical tubular member 25, Figure 2, is formed at its top to receive, With a smooth fit, a pintle 22 rigidly fixed to the lower surface of cap 20. The trunnion cap 20 lies in a transverse groove cut in the upper face of a circular head 24a integral with the top end 25 of the elevator assembly or support 26. To secure trunnion cap 20 in the pintle socket there is provided a pair of clamps 23. One end of each clamp engages the head 24a while the upper ends are fastened together by a bolt 24 which acts to draw the clamps together to securely clamp the trunnion cap in the groove of the elevator member. This arrangement will allow the carriage frame to pivot on the elevator member about the common axis of studs 21 to afford elevational movement of the guns while effectively preventing tipping of the assembly about a generally horizontal fore and aft axis.

The ground mount is of the .50 caliber M63 type and includes a base 27 supporting the support 26 for pivoting about a normally vertical axis as at 27a, to enable azimuthal movement or traverse, of the carriage. A traverse lock 28 is provided on the base assembly 27 to lock the carriage in any desired angle of traverse. The base assembly 27 has four equiangularly related sockets formedradialy therein to receive the ends of respective legs 29. At the outer ends of these legs, there are fastened spades 36% for insertion into the ground to hold the mount steady.

The elevating mechanism includes a pair of strap members 31 forming a collar embracing the lower end of the column 26. One end of a turnbuckle 32 is pivotally attached between the protruding ends of the strap members 31, while the other end is pivotally attached to a bracket 33, extending downwardly from the under surface of strip 18. A handwheel 34 is attached medially of and integrally with the turnbuckle 32 to permit operation thereof and provide a positive elevational adjustment of the carriage frame.

Trigger brackets 35, Figures 1 and 6, are attached to the respective ends of the rear face of member 8. From Figure 6 it will be noted that these brackets are attached to the member 8 by a screw and slot arrangement 35a aifording vertical adjustment of the brackets and trigger bar pivotally supported thereby. These brackets are apertured at 35b to receive aligned trunnions or studs integral with the ends of a trigger bar 37 which bar is thus mounted for pivotal movement about a longitudinal, generally horizontal axis. As clearly shown, this bar has a flat upper surface passing beneath the triggers F of each of the guns. At spaced intervals the bar 37 carries, in position beneath each trigger, a flat-headed screw 38 threaded into respective holes in the bar. See Figure 3.

By this construction, when the several screws are properly adjusted for elevation above the bar, an upward tilt or pivotal movement of the bar will actuate all of the triggers and fire the guns.

By varying the adjustments of the several screws, the guns may all be fired substantially simultaneously, or seriately for a full pull on the trigger bar. For example, one of the inner guns may be tired by a relatively slight pivoting of the trigger bar, the other inner gun by a slight additional pivoting, and the outer guns by still further pivoting. Or two guns may be fired by one pull and the other two by a slight additional pull. Other possible varia tions will be obvious.

For convenience of the operator a rearwardly-extending handle 39 may be attached to the trigger bar in such position that he may grasp the grip G of gun with his left hand and at the same time elevate handle 39 with the thumb of the same hand. To prevent accidental rotation of the trigger bar, a safety mechanism is provided which consists of a lever or latch 41, Figure 2, hinged at one end, as at 42, to member 8. The free end of lever 41, when received under a hook 43 fixed on trigger bar 37, prevents upward firing motion of the bar. By pivoting bar 37 downwardly slightly the lever 41 may be released and raised to inoperable position.

For mounting the machine guns A, B, C and D on the carriage frame, a series of fiat bracket members are attached to frame at positions therealong to appropriately support the guns. As best shown on Figure 5, rear brackets 44, 50, 45 and 46 are in alignment with respective front brackets 47, 51, 43 and 49, all rigidly afiixed to the frame. Rear brackets 44, 45 and 46 have arcuate slots 52, 53 and 54 therein, each concentric of a respective hole 55, 56 and 57 in front brackets 47, 48 and 49, respectively, whereby guns A, B and D may be slightly angularly adjusted laterally, in a manner hereinafter explained, to afford a proper or desired dispersion of fire.

Three rear yokes 58 one of which is best shown in Figure 6, are provided with downwardly projecting threaded studs 59 to be received in the semi-circular slots 52, 53 and 54 and secured in adjusted positions by nuts 60. The upwardly extending ears of each yoke 58 are apertured as at 61 to receive a sleeve era that is passed through the standard rear mount hole of the machine gun to be mounted, and held by a pin 63 passing through the assembly. The front yokes 62, as shown for gun A in Figure 7, are also provided with downwardly projecting threaded studs 63a to be passed through respective holes 55, 56 and 57 in front brackets 47, 48 and 49. Each of studs 63a is provided with an adjusting nut 64 to set the elevation of yoke 62 at any desired height, which adjustment is locked by a nut 65 securing the assembly in the bracket. The ears of front yokes 62 have aligned holes as at 66, to receive a bolt 67 which also passes through a hole in the conventional front mounting of the gun. Deflectors 68 and 69, Figures 3 and 7, are secured to each of the yokes 62 to deflect empty cartridge cases and links as they emerge from the gun and prevent them from dropping into the boxes E.

The operation will be clear from the foregoing description. By bore sighting and adjustments in azimuth afforded by slots 52, 53 and 54, and in elevation by front brackets 62, the guns may be adjusted so that their trajectories converge at any given range, or are dispersed a in any predetermined desired manner. Furthermore,

screws 38 "are adjusted so that the guns will fire simultaneously, or seriately, as desired. After loading each of the guns in the conventional manner the operator grasps grip G of gun B with his left hand, and, after aiming in azimuth by manual turning of the frame 5 and all parts carried thereby, and in elevation by adjustment of handwheel 34, moves lever 39 upwardly with the thumb of the same hand to tilt trigger bar 37 and fire the guns.

In the weapon shown provision is made for a maximum depression of 24 degrees and a maximum elevation of 46 degrees. The mount also swings freely in traverse through 360 degrees at any obtainable elevation or depression.

Standard ammunition boxes are carried in the lower rack. Any box can be quickly replaced by the assistant gunner, as no dumping is required. The deflector chutes 68 and 69 will deflect the spent cartridge cases and links away from these boxes to prevent fouling of same.

The upper carriage is so designed as to balance on the trunnions when the guns and ammunition boxes are mounted and loaded.

While we have shown the preferred form of the invention as now known to us, various modifications and substitutions of equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art after a study of the foregoing disclosure. Hence the disclosure should be taken in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, and it is our desire and intention to reserve all modifiwtions within the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having now fully disclosed the invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a mount for a. plurality of machine guns, a generally rectangular open frame, means carried by said frame to support a plurality of guns thereon in laterally spaced, generally parallel side-by-side relation, a tray fixed to and below said frame to extend transversely beneath the feed openings of all said guns and adapted to support a plurality of ammunition boxes, a trigger bar pivoted on said frame on a generally horizontal transverse axis rearwardly of said frame, said bar extending in operative relation with the trigger of each gun mounted upon said frame for engaging and releasing the triggers in response to pivoting of said bar, a pair of generally triangular plates fixed in vertical, laterally-spaced positions on said frame, said plates having the rearward ends of their bases projecting beyond said frame, a strip interconnecting said rearward ends, a ground support, a column journaled on said support for movement in train about a normally vertical axis and having its upper end projecting through a central opening in said frame, means journaling said plates at their upper corners to the top of said column to afford pivotal movement of said frame about a normally horizontal axis transversely of and intersecting the bore axes of guns mounted thereon, and means manually adjustable in length connecting said strip and column to positively adjust said frame about said normally horizontal axis.

2. A gun mount as recited in claim 1 said first named means comprising a strap extending diametrically across the top of said column and having downwardly-extending depending arms, means securing said strap in diametrical position across the top of said column, and a pair of aligned trunnions fixed in said depending arms each having a bearing fit in an aperture in a respective one of said plates.

3. Means for mounting a plurality of machine guns in laterally-spaced, side-by-side relation, an open frame generally rectangular in plan and including front and rear longitudinal members, vertical pivot means in said front member to support the front ends of a plurality of machine guns in laterally-spaced relation, adjustable means in said rear member to support the rear ends of said guns in variable relative angular position in a common horizontal plane, a trigger bar pivoted on said rear member on an axis parallel thereto to extend beneath all triggers of the guns, a plurality of trigger contacts mounted on said bar for normally vertical individual adjustment with respect thereto, each said contact engaging and releasing the trigger of a respective gun in predetermined timed relation when said bar is pivoted, means mounting said frame for aiming in train and elevation, and manually operable means secured to said bar for pivoting the same.

4. In a mount for a plurality of machine guns, a frame, means carried by said frame to support a first gun in a fixed plane normal to the longitudinal axis of said frame, separate pivotal means carried by said frame to support the forward ends of a series of second guns in spaced sideby-side relation, separate adjustable means carried by said frame to support the rearward end of each of said second guns to eifect separate angular adjustment in azimuth with respect to said first gun and to each of said second guns, a generally vertical support, means pivotally mounting said frame atop said support for pivotal movement in azimuth and elevation, a trigger bar pivoted on and extending along the rearward edge of said frame for pivotal movement about an axis parallel thereto, and separately adjustable means carried by said trigger bar to engage and actuate the triggers of guns mounted on said frame in predetermined order in response to manual pivoting of said bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 623,098 Capps Aug. 29, 1899 1,233,165 Barry July 10, 1917 1,284,713 Kruppa Nov. 12, 1918 1,621,365 Green et a1 Mar. 15, 1927 2,499,497 Gross Mar. 7, 1950 

